Stories for July 31st 2017

Manuela Mendez from the port of Corme, in Galicia, north-west Spain, is believed to be the first female officer in the Falklands' fishing fleet. The Second Mate arrived in Stanley harbor this week. After five years training in merchant shipping and a year on board another fishing vessel, Ms. Mendez joined the crew of Falkland’s trawler, New Polar, last year and is making her second trip to Falklands’ waters.

Rome narrowly avoided water rationing after a deal between the regional government and the city's water company defused a row over drawing water from a drought-affected lake. Taps had been due to run dry for 1.5 million Romans for up to eight hours a day from Monday, and Mayor Virginia Raggi urged the central government to intervene.

The rift between senior ministers on how long to allow the free movement of people after Brexit shows all the signs of a Cabinet in a state of civil war, Vince Cable has said. The Liberal Democrat leader's remarks come after International Trade Secretary Liam Fox dismissed the idea that a consensus had been reached on the issue by the Prime Minister's top table.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a television interview that the U.S. must cut the size of its diplomatic force in his country by more than half, from about 1,210 to 455. Putin said on Sunday that the cut will make the size of the U.S. diplomatic mission in his country equal to that of Russia's diplomatic corps in the U.S.

The Brazilian Congress will return from recess this week and could bring back political uncertainty fears to local markets, as lawmakers are set to decide on Wednesday if the Supreme Court should trial President Michel Temer for corruption. Temer was formally charged with passive corruption by the prosecutor-general Rodrigo Janot at the end of last month.

Spain's economy grew by 0.9% in the second quarter thanks to improved exports and household spending. The growth figure, a first estimate from the National Statistics Institute (INE), suggests the country's economy has finally grown back to the size it was before the credit crunch of 2008.

The United States economy gathered speed in the second quarter of the year, growing at an annualized pace of 2.6%. The pick-up was helped by consumer spending in the quarter expanding at a pace of 2.8%, and businesses stepping up spending on equipment.

Allowing free movement of people after Britain leaves the European Union would not keep faith with the Brexit vote, the international trade secretary said, underling divisions in the government over the issue. Liam Fox told the Sunday Times that senior government ministers had not reached a consensus on retaining free movement of people for a transitional period, a proposal outlined by finance minister Philip Hammond on Friday.